Jacket
by sjb121590
Summary: A Jacket, or Jack and Juliet, story. Told from their different points of view in different chapters.
1. Through the Looking Glass

Juliet stood behind the glass wall, plate in hand, staring through the window as Jack sat back against the far wall. He looked defeated. Red and downcast eyes stayed fixed upon the floor. He had hardly even reacted when she entered, saying she had brought him another sandwich, that it was time for lunch. Not that he would notice. Time seemed to run differently when you were locked up, alone, no ounce of hope left within you. Juliet knew because she had found herself in the same place, not so long ago.

She pulled open the door, entering the hallway, taking a deep breath before she entered Jack's cell. He hadn't moved. Juliet didn't expect him to. That hope he had just the other day had vanished the moment she broke him, gotten him to give up. She didn't really want to do it, she had to. It was her duty, Ben had reminded her of that, and she had to fulfill it. But she felt like she knew this man, the broken being before her, and she felt sorry. Sorry that she had made him this way.

"Here's your food, Jack." she said lightly, placing it on the table. The door closed silently behind her. "I even managed to get you a pickle. Sorry, I couldn't find any potato chips."

Her smile matched her mood, somber. She wanted a reaction from him. A nod, a blink, any recognition that he noticed her, cared of her presence at all. But he gave one, and Juliet did not know why she cared so much. She stared down at the plate, the bread still steaming, four colored toothpicks sticking up from them. A sigh almost escaped her throat, but she wouldn't let it. She turned to leave instead.

"Does your cook make anything else but grilled cheese?"

Juliet froze, surprised, looking behind her at Jack. He had barely moved, a simple shift of his head, his eyes locking on the table. She was disappointed he was looking at her, but then… why did she care? He was a prisoner, plain and simple. You are not supposed to fraternize with them. But then again, a little talking wouldn't hurt.

"He's not much of a cook."

Finally, she was permitted a smile. It was a small, hidden one, but a smile nonetheless. That had to account to something. Maybe she didn't break him too much after all. Yet, he needed to stay broken. Ben wanted to make a proposition later, and she didn't want to affect it. If she did, she didn't know what he'd do to her. She was the only other one with access. He'd know she had either screwed up earlier, or had screwed it up when he wasn't watching.

"It's not like you can simply hire a new one, right?"

Juliet only smiled, her heart beginning to beat a little faster. She couldn't give too much away. That was a part of their rules for outsiders, especially pertaining to these crash survivors. Do not tell them a thing about our past. But Juliet had broken that rule already. Almost everyone has. It was hard too when it was so real to yourself, and so mysterious to the people around her.

"So you aren't going to talk or what?"

"No." Juliet said off-hand, and then she snapped back into attention, speaking again more confidence. "No. My mind, it's just on other things."

Jack didn't say a thing, just tilted his head at more of an angle, and then stared down at the ground. She watched him for a second or two, deciding it was time to leave, and turning to do so. But something held her back. Again she was there, hand lightly touching the handle. Looking back at Jack, that defeated look still prominent on his face. She couldn't help it. She was beginning to feel sorry for him. Juliet found herself beginning to care for him. But wasn't it supposed to be the reverse? Wasn't the captive supposed to fall for the captured? Then why was the opposite at work here?

_Don't think like that,_ she told herself. _I'm not "falling" for him. I just have compassion, unlike the other people here._

Juliet almost left him alone. Instead, she turned to look at him, inwardly cursing the stupid decision she was about to make. Pulling the taser from her pocket, holding it up so Jack could see it, she stepped closer to the panic button on the wall.

"You need to eat, and Ben would kill me if I left you as unresponsive as you are now. He wants to have a chat with you later, and he needs your fullest cooperation." Juliet gave him a warning look when he finally looked up, eyes locking on to hers. "You can't eat on the floor, it may not seem like it, but we are civilized. You stand, and walk to the table. Sit on the far side. I'll be there." She pointed to the chair across from his. "If you make any sudden movements--" Tapping the taser off-handedly. "--you know what will happen."

Jack didn't move at first, but he slowly stood, making his way to the table. He sat, eyeing the grilled cheese warily. Juliet moved closer, glad he wasn't attempting to strangle her as before, sitting down. The grilled cheese was too far for him to reach, so she slowly pushed it across the table, freezing what it was close enough to him. He could've easily gotten it from there, but she stay leaning, keeping her fingers lightly touching the plate.

"You should eat."

He finally reached over, fingers lightly brushing against hers. Fire raced up her arm, turning her cheeks slightly red. She retracted her hand, slowly, trying to figure why that happened. Could she actually be attracted to him? No. He's the prisoner, she tried to remind herself. But still, the thought remained. _I am attracted to this man._ A chill ran up her arm just thinking about it, either from fear or that attraction, Juliet wasn't entire sure. Watching him again, more carefully, she sat back in her chair.

Jack was still eyeing the food, but as she watched, he finally took a bite, then another, that one with more vigor. She knew he was hungry. Sitting in a cell all day could do that to you. Along with the constant torture of not knowing what really going on, what your kidnappers had planned for you. And they had a lot planned. She smiled lightly, seeing as he was done, looking a little better.

"I'm really sorry about this, Jack." she said softly, before she could stop herself.

His eyes widened, as did hers. She stood sharply, making her way to the door.

"Wait."

The single word froze Juliet in her tracks. She turned to look at him, those big blue eyes staring at her in concern. Why couldn't she resist those eyes? A woman could get lost in those eyes. Jack must've seen her staring, because he gave her another weird look before continuing.

"What did you mean?"

Juliet desperately fought to compose her thoughts, trying to get back into the dominant role. She was in charge here, not him. She had all the answers, not him. He only knew as much as she'd let him. Only she knew her thoughts, Jack had no idea. The thoughts finally got her heart to stop beating so fast, and she finally locked eyes with him again. They did not suck her in.

"I only meant that I felt sorry for you being here. You've been behaving well, and we have many more… nicer cells."

Her excuse sounded lame event to her. Juliet sat back down, looking up at Jack. He seemed different now. Somehow… changed with those words, in a way she could not place. He seemed more confident, maybe, held his head a little higher, and when he spoke he didn't sound as weak. It was the Jack that she had read about, in the files and in the daily reports of the various survivors on the island. He seemed more in charge of the room, as energized as she had first met him. Even then, she thought he seemed like Ben. That alone scared her, as it did now.

"Look, I better go…"

"No, Juliet. Seriously, what did you mean?"

Juliet eyed him carefully. "I mean I better go."

She started to stand, but Jack grabbed her hand. It wasn't in a possessive way, more like a hopeful one. He wanted her to stay. She was the only non-threatening contact he has had. Sure, she knocked him out and broke him, but she could tell he was beginning to see through her. Jack saw right past the hard exterior and into the soft shell of a person she was, the person who she had shown herself as not long before.

"Juliet?"

"_Good work, Juliet."_

"_Thank you, Ben."_

A single tear ran down her face, and she broke their contact to wipe it away. She could still feel his touch, his soft voice saying her name over and over again in her head. Once again, she reached the door, this time she pulled it open, and started into the hallway. And once again she stopped, turned, eyes downcast.

"I'm sorry what I did to you, I'm sorry for anything Ben has planned for you. I'm sorry for your friends, the others we have kidnapped, we have killed…" she turned again, and spoke again in a softer voice, for only her to hear. "I'm sorry I'm attracted to you."

With that, Juliet was gone, the door closing and locking behind her. She walked steadily out of The Hydra, her hand to her face, throwing open the door and running into Ben. She stared at him for a second, realizing how this must look. Her crying like this, eyes all red and puffy, cheeks flushed. She gave a grim smile, and Ben nodded simply.

"Good luck."

As he disappeared into the hallway, she stood there until the door fully closed. Juliet took a step forward, then stopped, mind wandering to what was going to happen in there. Just Ben and Jack, alone, nothing to stop them if things got out of hand. But she knew Ben could handle himself, and that he wouldn't hurt Jack. At least, he wouldn't hurt him very much. Wiping another tear away, she exited the hatch; avoiding the cages Sawyer and Kate were in, walking mindlessly home.

Home, it was an awkward word to think. Juliet had never felt at home here.


	2. Downtown

**PART ONE**

**"Downtown"**

The CD player whirled again, her song cutting off in the middle of a high note, making Juliet turn around and frown. She set down her duster on the small table in her hallway, walking briskly to the darned machine, hitting it lightly. It didn't help. The CD continued to spin, only making a dry hiss sound, the sound of a saw cutting through the atmosphere. She stopped the disc, popped it open, inspecting the back. A large scratch cut across half the disc, and her mouth widened in surprise.

"Well, _that's_ not good…" she said, sighing heavily.

Setting the disk aside, she searched for another one. Her old (and rather dusty) Petula Clark didn't looked scratched at all, and after wiping it on a rag, she put it into the CD player, closing the door. The CD whirled again, and the first song started. Downtown… Juliet had almost forgotten that this song was on here. After the plane crash, their reconissence, the deaths of two of their agents, and then Ben's kidnapping… her mind had been elsewhere.

And it wasn't exactly on Ben himself, even if he'd hope that. Sure, they had dated once. But that was a long time ago. Juliet had found out the hard way how depicable that man could be. He seemed so great on the outside, but inside… he was the quintessence of evil. She had been listening to this song (_how many days ago?_) right after a rather awkward encounter with Ben. This coupled with the fact no one liked _Carrie_ because Ben had totally corrupted the entire group to think what he thought.

Juliet did not like that at all.

Singing the song lightly under her breath, she began cleaning again. Almost the entire house was clean. All that was left was the kitchen. Getting the cleaners, the rags, everything, she began. Juliet had only gotten to the stove when her mind turned to Jack. Poor man, sitting in his cell, defeated in the corner. Ben had made the proposition only the day before. He told him the truth, had shown him the evidence. From his file, she had known he'd get a kick out of the information about the Red Sox. In the end, it was the thing that broke him.

Juliet had been watching, from the control room, eyes never leaving him. He had laughed a crazy laugh before it sunk in, and just watching it saddened her. Jack had been a good man before he came here. Not perfect, but good. Sure, he made mistakes, a lot of mistakes. But no, she reminded herself, it was not who we were. It is who we are.

Who was Jack _now_? He's a leader and a fighter, who had easily taken control of his group. _Me? Who am I? I am a leader, a fighter, who took control of the group when Ben was gone._ She knew they were alike. That interested her when he had come here. She noted the similarities. She didn't note how they made him attractive to her, before she ever met him, before she even realized it herself.

Juliet shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her head. Everyone would ban her if they ever caught her talking to him like she had done before. Luckily, she had been alone in The Hydra. No one witnessed her "crimes." Opening the cabinet, she put a firm picture of him in her mind, silently wiping down the interior, trying to think of what it would be like actually with him.

_Juliet Shephard, I like it…_

Just then, the door bell rang. She jumped as if she had been shot, almost knocking a mug off the shelf, turning and staring at the door. Juliet took a deep breath, then another, knowing that no one had heard what she just thought. Someone was simply at her door. That was all. No problem. She could handle that. Just don't mention Jack, and she'd be fine.

Juliet threw the rag over her shoulder, walking to the door and opening it wide. "Downtown" was ending now, the CD player whirring as it changed songs. She regarded Ben with ill contempt. She looked at him, the squirrel of a man, feeling a sudden repulsion. _How could I have ever been attracted to him?_ She forced a smile.

"Well, hello Ben. What a pleasure to see you."

_Like hell._

Ben smiled, nodding, walking in and past her without even asking to come in. Juliet followed him with her eyes, slightly disgusted at the thought of him entering her home. This was unlike him. Usually, she was contacted outside of home, when she was working. The conversation between them was simple, except when Ben made references to their past together. She had gotten over it, gotten over him. Apparently, Ben was not on the same page.

"Have you heard from Colleen?" he asked, locking his eyes on hers.

Her eyebrow's rose in surprise, not expecting that question at all from him. Juliet and Colleen weren't exactly friends, enemies to the bone if there ever were any. If Ben was coming to ask her if she had seen them, then he must have been desperate. Or he had something else to tell her.

"Ben, look. Why are you really here? You know Colleen and I aren't exactly… best friends. I bet she's in her room, sleeping off the raid from the boat. Have you talked to Tom? I think he went last night."

Benjamin only scowled, looking away, as if she was hiding around the corner from him. Juliet put her hands on her hips, migrane forming, looking from him to the wide-open door, starting over to close it.

"I need you to watch Jack for me, for the next few hours. I think something may have happened to the mission. I'll tell you anything later when I have time."

Ben turned, seeing her grasping the doorknob, smirking silently.

"I'm glad to see you have finally learned some manners for your superior." Ben said sharply, walking out onto the porch.

Juliet closed her eyes, leaning against the door. "You should've listened to me and let them come."

He only paused. "Have a nice day."

She closed the door. Juliet closed her eyes for good, sliding down the heavy wooded frame. She took the rag from her shoulder, throwing it across the room, using her hands to fix her hair as she thought about Ben, and Jack. It was no big deal to watch him for a few hours, if he were any normal prisoner. But he wasn't. Pushing herself up, she took the lunch meat from the refridgerator, slapping turkey, ham, and cheese onto the table next to her.

She didn't have time to make him a grilled cheese or soup. A regular sandwhich would have to do.


End file.
